Port Charlotte's coach Jordan Ingman smiles after his Pirates for the first time win in a state playoff game over the Eau Gallie Commodores at the Port Charlotte Pirates Cove stadium in Port Charlotte Fla. Friday evening Nov. 15, 2013. (November 15, 2013, Herald-Tribune Staff Photo by Thomas Bender)

“We look out for him,” said Debus, Ingman’s former teammate with the Pirates, current Port Charlotte defensive line coach and Ingman’s roommate. “He doesn’t eat much. He doesn’t sleep much. We’re always making sure we bring gallons of orange juice for him.”

When the then 22-year-old Ingman was named coach of Port Charlotte two years ago, he looked for two qualities in his assistants: “good men and loyal guys.

“I knew when we started this thing it was going to be tough,” Ingman said. “I knew there was going to be some adversity. So when it got tough, they wouldn’t turn or backstab each other. Everybody would continue to work and grind. We got guys who knew each other, cared about the program and had each other’s back.”

Ingman knew his players would not be fooled if the staff did not get along. If the coaching staff was not tight, how could he ask the players to be a family and have each other’s back?

“Players could pick up when staff isn’t a unit,” he said. “If you’re asking for a group of young men to be a unit and your staff is not a unit, it’s not going to work.”

Before enlisting Debus and Bowman, Ingman called his former coach with the Pop Warner Port Charlotte Bandits, an ex-inside linebacker who coached in college.

Gary Ingman worked on the same staff with his father at East Tennessee State in Johnson City, Tenn., his alma mater, after graduating from Clearwater High School.

“I worked for my dad, who was my best friend,” Gary said. “Now, I get to work with him, who is my best friend. I get to coach the position I played. It’s a lot of fun.”

Debus, who attended the University of Central Florida, and Bowman, who played at Webber International University, are dubbed the “Three Amigos” along with Ingman. They all played together during some of the leaner times at Port Charlotte.

“We talked about it for a long time, even before we left high school. We were going to come back and coach somewhere,” Bowman said. “I jumped at the opportunity with him because I knew how great of a guy he is and how hard he works.”

“I wanted to coach, and I definitely wanted to coach here,” Debus said. “He’s somebody you want to be around. He’s going to do well in whatever he does, just because how hard he works.”

“Carson and Debus are two of my best friends, and I knew they cared about this program,” Ingman said. “They are hard workers. Our weight program is tough, and those guys are right in there working. That affects the kids.”

Ingman did not just hire his friends and family.

Also part of the staff are Brad Nocek, who played with Ingman at Wofford College, Greg Griner, another of his Pop Warner coaches, former Port Charlotte players Zach Wheeler and Jamie Hazeltine and he kept Chris Drummer, who was part of the former regime.

On the subject of the old regime, Dave Hoffer, the Pirates’ head coach for five seasons, returned to coach outside linebackers. The DeSoto County connection of Quintel Perkins and Tommy Henry are back on the sidelines after a one-year absence.

Kicking coach Milan Djokic, also part of the old regime, drives once a week from Sebring to work with the kickers. Dave Hutcherson, a former Lemon Bay linebacker, is on the staff as a spotter. Stephanie Flowers, Ingman’s former English teacher, is on the sidelines as the ACT prep coach and academic tutor. Team manager Leesa Searle is everywhere and does just about everything.

“We get along awesome,” Bowman said. “As far as the chemistry, we all work together very well. We have young guys who are very hungry and want to work hard, and we have older guys who have all the knowledge in the world. Everybody is equal. All we think about is getting the kids better.”

“I believe we have the best assistant coaches in the country,” Ingman said. “Nobody is more important than anyone else. We’re all one. We all coach our position group, and we put those pieces together to make one big puzzle. You have to let your assistants coach.”

This season, Port Charlotte won its first two playoff games in the 32-year school history of the program, defeating Eau Gallie (Melbourne) and Melbourne in the first two regional home games at Pirates Cove.

Former Port Charlotte head coach Dave Hoffer returned to the staff as an assistant this season. STAFF PHOTO / DENNIS MAFFEZZOLI

At 7:30 p.m. Friday, the Pirates will travel to Tarpon Springs to play East Lake for the Class 7A-Region 3 title and a berth in the State Semifinals.

“The kids work hard because they see how hard he works,” Bowman said of Ingman. “We work hard because we see how hard he works. It just evolves around that.”

The staff loyalty was tested midway through last season. After bolting to a 5-1 start, Port Charlotte dropped a 28-20 decision to county rival Lemon Bay in a district game.

It was the Pirates’ first loss in nine meetings against the Manta Rays, and Ingman heard the whispers of “I told you so” as to whether or not a 22-year-old coach and a young staff could handle the rigors of coaching high school football.

“When we had the loss to Lemon Bay, there was adversity,” Ingman said. “There were people saying we weren’t ready for this. The cool thing was when we went into that staff room that Saturday morning, there wasn’t a single finger pointed, not a single complaint. It was a group of guys who wanted to work to get better.”

“That was the worst time for us, because we got outcoached,” Debus said. “We talked about it, and it will never happen again. It’s not like he did less that week in preparation mentally. But we got hit in the mouth physically.”

The assistants are worried Ingman works too much, but are resigned to the fact there is nothing they can do about it, because that is the way he always has been.

“As a player in high school, he pulled his hamstring because he worked too much running and lifting,” Bowman said. “He will always work too hard. I’m not worried about it, because that’s just the way he is.”